MEN’S BASKETBALL

Battle-tested and built for moments like this, the #19 Huntington men’s basketball team proved again Saturday afternoon why it owns the nation’s toughest strength of schedule, grinding out a 74-64 road win over Taylor inside Odle Arena.

With both squads entering the day at 10-5 in Crossroads League play and tied for fourth in the standings, the stakes were high. Huntington delivered. The win moves the Foresters into a tie for third with Bethel while Taylor slips a game back into fifth with just two regular-season contests remaining.

The victory also avenges a 75-61 loss to the Trojans earlier this season, stretches HU’s win streak to three and continues Huntington’s dominance in the series with wins in eight of the last ten meetings.

From the opening tip, the Foresters controlled the tempo. They never trailed and were only tied twice in the early minutes before asserting themselves behind a balanced attack and physical presence in the paint.

Fast Start, Strong Response
Keylane Lasisi set the tone early, pouring in eight of HU’s first 17 points. The 6-6 forward finished with 13 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting effort while adding seven rebounds and two blocks.

A Cade Brenner triple midway through the first half pushed the lead to 22-11 and hinted at a potential runaway. But Taylor responded, trimming the margin to 39-32 by halftime. Three minutes into the second half, the Trojans cut the deficit to three. Lasisi answered again with a strong finish inside, igniting a decisive 12-0 run that ballooned the lead to 55-40 — the game’s largest gap.

Closing Time Belongs to Paul and Good
Taylor made one final surge. With just over two minutes remaining, Nate Paarlberg buried a three to make it a two-point game. Enter Jackson Paul.

With the shot clock winding down, the 6-1 guard drilled a baseline jumper. On the next possession, he buried a contested three to beat the buzzer again, pushing the lead back to six with just over a minute left. Paul finished with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

Miles Good then iced it at the line, calmly knocking down all four of his free throws in the final stretch. Good totaled 18 points, including 7-for-7 at the stripe, while adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Kaden Johnson also poured in 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting and controlled the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double while handing out four assists and swatting three shots. As a team, HU shot 47.5 percent from the floor, outrebounded Taylor 36-30 and forced 11 turnovers. The Foresters also recorded five blocks and six steals in a complete two-way effort.

Taylor’s Top Performers
Taylor was led by Izaiah Day and Pete Combs with 12 points apiece. Carson Gould added 11 points and five assists, while Nathan Baker chipped in 11 off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. The Trojans shot 42.4 percent overall and 37 percent from three but were limited to just four free throw attempts on the afternoon.

With the win, Huntington improves to 20-6 overall and remains firmly in the Crossroads League race, just one game behind 2nd place Indiana Wesleyan. The Foresters return to Platt Arena on Wednesday to host Saint Francis at 7:30 p.m. in their final regular-season home game of the year.